The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Tulane
Blazers Down Tulane, 80-59
1/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 28, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- Sidney Ball scored 13 points and added 11 boards to record his third career (second this season) double-double and lead UAB to a 80-59 victory over Tulane here Wednesday night. With the win, UAB matched its best start in school history in Conference USA play at 5-1, and moved to 12-5 overall this season. Tulane dropped to 0-5 in C-USA and 7-9 overall.
"I want our guys to be consistent and we were up and down tonight," UAB coach Mike Anderson said. "We had a nice lead but our intensity left us. In the last 6 or 7 minutes, our intensity was there and we were able to pull away."
Carldell Johnson, celebrating his 21st birthday, tied his career high with 12 points and added six assists on the evening. Demario Eddins and Ronnell Taylor each added 10 points for UAB.
The Blazers led 40-33 at halftime and held Tulane without a field goal for the first five minutes of the second half.
UAB's stingy defense helped gave the Blazers a 49-34 lead, but Tulane refused to fold.
Two baskets by Marcus Kinzer helped draw Tulane closer, and the Green Wave went on an 11-2 run to cut the margin to three points. A follow shot by Vytas Tatarunas made it 60-57 with 7:19 remaining.
However, after a time-out, UAB's Mo Finley hit a 3-pointer that sparked a 20-2 run over the final seven minutes to seal the victory.
Kinzer led the Green Wave with 16 points and five assists. Chris Moore hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points for Tulane.
UAB entered the contest third in the nation in steals per game (11.6) and collected 14 thefts on the evening, while forcing Tulane into 23 turnovers.
The Blazers will remain in Bartow Arena for a crucial conference game this weekend. UAB will play host to Saint Louis (11-6, 4-2) on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m.
